


Gays of Tennis

by Lumeleo



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, FtM Dan Taichi, Homophobia, M/M, Trans Character, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22113403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumeleo/pseuds/Lumeleo
Summary: After Dan gets outed and humiliated, his teammates want to prove that he's not alone. Their rival teams are all quite happy to help make the message clear.As it turns out, the metaphorical rainbow covers a large part of the high school tennis circuit.
Relationships: Akutsu Jin/Dan Taichi, Kikumaru Eiji/Ooishi Shuuichirou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. The Plan

_“So.” Sengoku was smiling as usual in the video, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Knowing how fast gossip moves in these circles, I’m pretty sure most of you already know what happened. For the two or three of you who have somehow managed to remain clueless, though, let me summarize.”_

_Any hints of a smile left his face with a sigh. “So, at the Tokyo District tournament, our youngest regular Dan-kun was outed against his will not once, but twice. First, a former classmate decided to out him as a trans guy and deadname him in front of people."_

*

Shishido muttered a curse under his breath, then glanced around. Predictably, nobody around him was looking particularly happy, with Atobe looking especially pissed. Good. He’d known his teammates could be annoying at times but none of them were actual assholes. It was still nice to get an occasional piece of confirmation, though.

*

_“As you might imagine, Dan-kun was rather unsettled, enough so that he messed up his match. Then, while he was still trying to recover, someone took a picture of him with his boyfriend and posted it online, names and all. So much for his careful plans about who to come out to and when.” Sengoku paused. “When I find out who did that — and I damn well will — they’re going to wish they’d never even heard of the internet.”_

_“Oi!” a voice cut in from off-camera. “If Dan-kun’s not letting Akutsu go on a rampage on his behalf, I don’t think you’re going to get permission, either.”_

_“What rampage? I’m just going to give them a serious talking-to.” Sengoku leaned closer to the camera and gave a fake-whisper. “Serious is my right fist and Talking-To is my left.”_

_“Sengoku-senpai! Stop inviting the wrath of Dan!”_

*

Momoshiro couldn’t help but chuckle. “Think it’d be okay if someone else took care of that talk?”

“Momo.” Oishi frowned, shaking his head. “Violence is not the answer, regardless of how infuriating the situation may be.”

“I don’t know, he’s making sense for once.” Kaidou hissed. “Some people just won’t get words.”

“Regardless, I doubt Sengoku’s intention was to call for vigilantes.” Oishi sighed. “Let’s finish watching, hm?”

*

_“So, after this mess, Dan-kun’s asked not to be on our line-up for Kantou so he can avoid attention if needed. Obviously we’ve agreed, even if it’s going to make strategies more difficult. The team is going to support him in whatever ways we can, not that any of this was new information to us.”_

_This time, the off-camera voice decided to come on camera instead, revealing itself to be Muromachi peeking over Sengoku’s shoulder. “At this point it’s pretty much a standard part of the Yamabuki tennis club experience to spot Dan-kun wrapped around Akutsu like a particularly kissy leech.”_

_“Pretty sure leeches don’t wrap themselves around anything, they just use their mouths. And I’ll thank you not to comment further on that, thanks.” Sengoku pushed him off the camera with an exaggerated eye roll before facing the camera again._

_“Aaaanyway. Obviously, we’d rather like Dan-kun to feel comfortable playing by the time Nationals roll around. And yes, we’re definitely going to be there for him to join us.” Sengoku winked and grinned at the camera. “So, after some chatting, we figured our best chance of that happening is if he doesn’t feel so singled out.”_

*

“So that’s what he’s after, then.” Shinji nodded to himself. “It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard, but it’s not guaranteed to work, either. For one thing, it could get mistaken as a joke, or something like those guys from Shitenhouji trying to freak people out, and that would have the opposite effect —”

“Shinji.” Tachibana resisted the urge to sigh. “How about we let Sengoku explain things himself?”

*

_“I’m not making any demands here, just offering some suggestions.” Sengoku leaned closer with a conspiratorial wink. ”Now, I’m not going to be outing anyone because I’m not an asshole. I’m not even going to speculate aloud. All I’m going to say is that I’m pretty sure Yamabuki doesn’t have the only team in the entire circuit with queer members.”_

_“So, on that note.” He leaned back again, trying to look serious for all of two seconds before grinning again. “Again, no demands or anything like that. Just, if anyone out there has been thinking of coming out, and it’s safe for you to do so, Kantou would be a pretty good time and place to take the leap. And if you’re already out, that’s fine. Being a bit more obvious wouldn’t hurt either, and it’s definitely going to piss off any bigots.”_

_There was some comment from Muromachi off-camera, again, though the words couldn’t be heard properly. Sengoku snorted and shook his head._

_“Oh, right, except Seigaku’s Golden Pair. No offense to you guys, but I’m pretty sure there are little green people of undefined gender on Mars who know you’re a thing. The only thing left to come out from you two is the wedding invitations.”_

*

Oishi made a strangled sound and flushed deeply. Eiji, however, squealed in delight and leaped forward to hug his boyfriend.

“Nyah, I think I like being obvious! Right, Oishi?” He gave the rest of the team a broad grin over Oishi’s shoulder. “That way, nobody tries to steal away my Oishi!”

“Eiji, you’re being silly.” Oishi’s face was still flushed, but he did manage a small smile. “It’s not like there’s any chance of me being stolen away anyway.”

Eiji’s happy sounds very nearly drowned out the rest of the video.

*

_“Now, if you’re straight or at least figure it’s best to still appear so, Muromachi’s actually got a little project you can all still help with if you want to. Well, unless you’re a transphobic shithead, anyway.” Sengoku’s grin turned very sharp. “In which case, fuck off, and never come anywhere near Dan-kun if you’re fond of your teeth being attached to your jaw.”_

*

Niou ignored the following remarks and Muromachi’s instructions at the end of the video, instead turning to look at Yukimura. “Hey, captain?” He smirked. “Permission to make Kantou a little more fabulous?”

Yukimura’s gentle smile never faltered. “As long as you don’t break the tournament rules.”

Niou waited for some more conditions, but there were none. His smirk widened as he realized that. “Excellent. Because trust me, I’m not going to let Hyoutei win just because Atobe can probably airdrop a truckload of rainbow glitter all over the tournament grounds.”

Sanada grunted. “Let’s hope he doesn’t. That would be a pain to clean.”

“Oh, I agree.” Yukimura’s smile somehow turned even more serene. “Perhaps you should give him some slightly less troublesome ideas?”

The confused look on Sanada’s face was utterly priceless. Niou had no intention of ruining it by pointing out the obvious.


	2. The Outcome

They had barely made it to the tournament grounds when Oishi spotted a small stand with a bunch of people crowded in front of it. Walking closer, he noticed a couple of Hyoutei students manning the stand. There were piles of wristbands arranged in front of them in various colorful designs. Designs that looked rather familiar, in fact, with small signs in front of each one announcing very telling labels.

“Are those pride flags, nyaa?” Eiji was practically leaning over Oishi’s shoulder to get a better look. “That’s so cool!”

“You know it!” One of the Hyoutei players winked at them. Taki, Oishi remembered after a moment’s thought. “Pick whichever ones you think represent you! They’re free, courtesy of Atobe. We’ve even got ones for allies.”

“I’m definitely getting one, nyaa!” Eiji grinned and pounced forward into the crowd. A moment later he emerged again, handing Oishi a wristband in a colorful rainbow pattern. Eiji had already managed to slip one on his wrist, his one being rather more… sparkly. “I figured you’d want one with less glitter.”

“Much appreciated.” Oishi’s lips twitched. “Let’s move to make room for others, okay?” Just glancing around, he could see several people wearing wristbands of various color schemes. Some of them he didn’t even recognize, but then, that just meant he had to learn more.

The tournament was definitely going to be rather more colorful than usual, in all the best ways.

*

“Sengoku-senpai! Have you seen the hits on the video?”

“Well, obviously.” Sengoku grinned as he adjusted the wristband in pansexual colors on his arm. “I’ve been refreshing it every five minutes. It’s spreading like a very fabulous wildfire.”

“It was a very good idea, Muromachi.” Minami patted Muromachi’s shoulder. “You did a great job with that.”

"Got to do something.” Muromachi lifted his own wrist, showing off the asexual colors. “And since I’m not about to go around kissing guys just for the effect, I figured I should take another approach.”

“Well, it was a very effective one.” Sengoku took out his phone, whistling as he refreshed the screen. “Okay, someone big just shared the video, the hits basically doubled since I last checked.”

“My money’s on Atobe. Nobody else has that sort of reach.” Muromachi paused. “Also, I wouldn’t put it past him to just order all his club members to check it out.”

“Hey, if he’s using his influence for good rather than evil, I’m all for it.” Sengoku’s grin widened. “I’m still going to enjoy taking him down.”

“As though that’s going to happen.” As they all glanced at Muromachi, he took on a defensive stance. “What? You’re good, but Atobe’s better. Assuming we can even get all the way to Hyoutei, our lineup is notably weaker without Dan-kun.”

“Okay, that won’t do.” Sengoku threw his arm around Muromachi’s shoulders. “No being negative here, got it? We’ve got to make it to Nationals, after all. Dan-kun won’t be happy if we drop out before he gets back.”

“Right, right.” Muromachi snorted. “Still not counting on you beating Atobe, though.”

And really, just for that, Sengoku was going to work even harder to prove him wrong.

*

“Oi, Kaidou! Feel like helping us for a moment?”

Kaidou glanced over to see Rikkai’s Niou of all people waving at him. He let out a hiss. “Why would I want to help you?”

“Don’t mind the grump, he’s got no sense of fun.” Momo laughed, because he was an idiot. “Can I fill in?”

“Sorry, it’s kind of limited job.” Niou shook his head. “We can’t find anyone with green hair to finish our rainbow, so we figured Kaidou’s bandana could fill in.”

“What, you got the rest of the rainbow figured out, then?” Momo chuckled. “Really?”

“Well, yeah. We’d actually get most of it all by ourselves, but we reached out just to make it more varied.” Niou counted off on his fingers. “We’ve got Marui for red, Yamabuki’s Sengoku for orange, Fudoumine’s Tachibana for yellow, Yukimura for blue, Hyoutei’s Oshitari for indigo, and then Yagyuu for purple. So as you can see, we’re just missing green.”

“Fsshuuu.” Kaidou paused. “What are you going to do, then?”

“Nothing complicated. We figured we’d just have everyone sit on a bench in order, then take a picture from behind to show off the colors, and post that online. It’ll just take a few minutes once we get everyone together, and you won’t even have to show your face.”

“Feh.” Kaidou shook his head. “I suppose I’ll do it, or this idiot will just steal my bandana and do it instead.”

“Hey, now, I wouldn’t do that!” Momo paused as Kaidou glared at him. “…Well, maybe I would. But it would just be for a few minutes!”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather just do those few minutes myself.” Kaidou hissed, then turned towards Niou. “Let’s get it over with, then.”

Clearly, he just wanted to avoid Momo’s mischief. It had nothing to do with the wristband currently hidden under his jacket.

*

“Anything interesting going on?”

“A bunch of things.” Jirou grinned, wide awake for a change. “I actually saw Rikkai do their hair photo! Also, everyone’s wearing the wristbands, and I spotted a bunch of couples holding hands while walking, and I’m pretty sure Fudoumine were each wearing shorts in a different color of the rainbow.”

“That all does sound rather fabulous, yes.” Atobe smirked. “What’s this I heard about data players doing something together?”

“Apparently they put together a couples photo booth.” Gakuto smirked. “I managed to drag Yuushi in there. They took a photo and printed out a copy for us, on the condition they get to add another copy to their album. Apparently they’re going to give it to Dan after the tournament, a sort of data collection to another data player.”

“Hm. Usually I’d be doubtful of data players collecting information on people, but it’s not like they need to go to all this trouble just to take photos.” Atobe shook his head. “Also, if they’re all in on it, it’s probably nothing sinister, because none of them would have the advantage.”

“You know, for someone who hasn’t ever had a data player in his team, you seem to have them figured out pretty well.” Shishido snorted. “So, what else are you scheming?”

“Now, really. Why would you think I’m scheming anything? Basically everyone’s already wearing the wristbands we’re handing out.” Atobe feigned an innocent expression. Granted, it didn’t exactly come to him naturally.

“I know you better than that by now. You’d never be satisfied with just one layer of schemes, especially when the first one didn’t draw any attention to you personally.”

“You are such a suspicious person.” Atobe rolled his eyes but stood up. He reached for the zipper of his jacket, pausing for dramatic effect before unzipping it. As he shrugged off the jacket, he couldn’t help but smirk at the surprised looks on his team’s faces.

Oshitari whistled. “That sure is something.”

“I rather like it myself.” Atobe smirked, spreading his arms and doing a little spin to give them a proper look. At a glance, his shirt was simply the regular Hyoutei uniform shirt, as was only appropriate. However, this specific version sparkled in the sunlight, bright white and blue, enough to catch everyone’s eye but not so much that it would actually distract his opponents. His favorite detail was the right sleeve, which shifted from blue to pink when color hit it just right.

“Trust you to be literally shiny.” Shishido was trying to look dismissive, but Atobe could see his lips twitching into a smile as well. “You even managed to get the trans colors in there.”

“You should know I never do anything halfway.” Atobe chuckled. “Now, start getting ready, our first matches are starting soon. I’ve got an errand to run, but I’ll be back soon.”

“And that can’t wait?” Gakuto lifted his eyebrows. “You sure you’re not just looking for excuses to show off your shirt to everyone?”

“Please, it’ll get enough attention during the matches. I actually do have something to do.” Atobe glanced at Jirou. “Where exactly are Rikkai?”

This caused quite a few comments and jeers, but Atobe ignored them. Instead, he flipped them a bird over his shoulder as he walked off to the direction Jirou had indicated. It wasn’t like he’d ever cared about their teasing, anyway.

The only opinion he cared about right now was whether Sanada would agree to go out with him after the tournament. Best to get that cleared before they played each other, or the answer might be affected when he inevitably beat Sanada.


	3. The Result

The video was still running on the screen of Taichi’s laptop, looping back to the start whenever it reached its end. Akutsu was not paying much attention to it, had long since tuned it out. The thing he was focused on was Taichi curled up in his arms, dozing off.

“You really are a special thing, aren’t you,” Akutsu murmured into the tousled hair. “Trust the entire tennis circuit to come together just to make you feel better. And even after all that, you still come back to me.”

Taichi didn’t respond, didn’t even move as he was already nestled comfortably against Akutsu’s chest. Not that it mattered. Akutsu had already heard all the sweet words, had murmured enough of them into Taichi’s ear when there were no witnesses. The only threat to his place in Taichi’s heart was his own bad side, and even that had become a much less formidable foe over time.

The video started over once again, familiar faces appearing on the screen with a background of soft yet cheery music. “I am Sengoku Kiyosumi of Yamabuki High,” Sengoku informed the camera with a grin. “And I don’t play tennis with my dick.” The same scene was repeated over and over again, with only the faces and names changing from one player to another. Akutsu couldn’t help but be somewhat impressed with how many people had recorded themselves announcing the lack of connection between their tennis skills and genitalia. Not that he’d ever admit that he found the whole effort anything but ridiculous.

The music shifted slightly, with more faces appearing. “I’m Atobe Keigo, captain of Hyoutei High.” Atobe smirked at the camera, smug and completely without shame. “And I damn well don’t need a dick to play tennis.”

This part of the video was much shorter, with only a few people appearing. That was still more than Akutsu would have expected, both because the percentages weren’t exactly in their favor to begin with and because this would require far more courage than simply announcing their support. The courageous ones included a few names from some of the top teams, people Taichi looked up to declaring that they were just like him and it did not affect their ability to play.

It was the part that had first made Taichi cry, downright sobbing in Akutsu’s arms. Akutsu trusted it had been the good kind of tears, though, and therefore there was no need for him to track down anyone for beating them up. Not this time.

“You’re not as alone as you thought,” Akutsu murmured, not that Taichi could hear him right now. “And I’m damn well not going to let you forget that.”

This was not something he could fight with his fists, not even something something he could shield Taichi from. However, he now had one more weapon to use in the battle against Taichi’s fears and insecurities.

His boyfriend was growing from a scrawny little boy into a strong young man, who would soon be the person to inspire someone else to be themselves without shame. When that happened, Akutsu was going to be right there to rub that in the face of those who had doubted Taichi.

For the moment, though, he was just going to hold Taichi and not let go.

Akutsu was enough of a dick for both of them, anyway.


End file.
